For dousands of years, indigenous peopwes were de onwy inhabitants of de territory dat is now Maine. At de time of European arrivaw in what is now Maine, severaw Awgonqwian-speaking peopwes inhabited de area. The first European settwement in de area was by de French in 1604 on Saint Croix Iswand, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first Engwish settwement was de short-wived Popham Cowony, estabwished by de Pwymouf Company in 1607. A number of Engwish settwements were estabwished awong de coast of Maine in de 1620s, awdough de rugged cwimate, deprivations, and confwict wif de wocaw peopwes caused many to faiw over de years.

As Maine entered de 18f century, onwy a hawf dozen European settwements had survived. Loyawist and Patriot forces contended for Maine's territory during de American Revowution and de War of 1812. During de War of 1812, de wargewy-undefended eastern region of Maine was occupied by British forces, but returned to de United States after de war fowwowing major defeats in New York, Marywand and Louisiana, as part of a peace treaty dat was to incwude dedicated wand on de Michigan peninsuwa for Native American peopwes. Maine was part of de Commonweawf of Massachusetts untiw 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. On March 15, 1820, under de Missouri Compromise, it was admitted to de Union as de 23rd state.

There is no definitive expwanation for de origin of de name "Maine", but de most wikewy origin is dat de name was given by earwy expworers after de former province of Maine in France. Whatever de origin, de name was fixed for Engwish settwers in 1665 when de Engwish King's Commissioners ordered dat de "Province of Maine" be entered from den on in officiaw records.[16] The state wegiswature in 2001 adopted a resowution estabwishing Franco-American Day, which stated dat de state was named after de former French province of Maine.[17]

Oder deories mention earwier pwaces wif simiwar names, or cwaim it is a nauticaw reference to de mainwand.[18] Attempts to uncover de history of de name of Maine began wif James Suwwivan's 1795 "History of de District of Maine". He made de unsubstantiated cwaim dat de Province of Maine was a compwiment to de qween of Charwes I, Henrietta Maria, who once "owned" de Province of Maine in France. This was qwoted by Maine historians untiw de 1845 biography of dat qween by Agnes Strickwand[19] estabwished dat she had no connection to de province; furder, King Charwes I married Henrietta Maria in 1625, dree years after de name Maine first appeared on de charter.[20] A new deory, put forward by Carow B. Smif Fisher in 2002, is dat Sir Ferdinando Gorges chose de name in 1622 to honor de viwwage where his ancestors first wived in Engwand, rader dan de province in France. "MAINE" appears in de Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to de county of Dorset, which is today Broadmayne, just soudeast of Dorchester.[20][21]

The view generawwy hewd among British pwace name schowars is dat Mayne in Dorset is Brydonic, corresponding to modern Wewsh "maen", pwuraw "main" or "meini".[citation needed] Some earwy spewwings are: MAINE 1086, MEINE 1200, MEINES 1204, MAYNE 1236.[22] Today de viwwage is known as Broadmayne, which is primitive Wewsh or Brydonic, "main" meaning rock or stone, considered a reference to de many warge sarsen stones stiww present around Littwe Mayne farm, hawf a miwe nordeast of Broadmayne viwwage.[23][24]

The first known record of de name appears in an August 10, 1622 wand charter to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, Engwish Royaw Navy veterans, who were granted a warge tract in present-day Maine dat Mason and Gorges "intend to name de Province of Maine". Mason had served wif de Royaw Navy in de Orkney Iswands, where de chief iswand is cawwed Mainwand, a possibwe name derivation for dese Engwish saiwors.[16] In 1623, de Engwish navaw captain Christopher Levett, expworing de New Engwand coast, wrote: "The first pwace I set my foote upon in New Engwand was de Iswe of Shoaws, being Iwands [sic] in de sea, above two Leagues from de Mayne."[25] Initiawwy, severaw tracts awong de coast of New Engwand were referred to as Main or Maine (cf. de Spanish Main). A reconfirmed and enhanced Apriw 3, 1639, charter, from Engwand's King Charwes I, gave Sir Ferdinando Gorges increased powers over his new province and stated dat it "shaww forever hereafter, be cawwed and named de PROVINCE OR COUNTIE OF MAINE, and not by any oder name or names whatsoever..."[20][26] Maine is de onwy U.S. state whose name has exactwy one sywwabwe.[27][28]

The originaw inhabitants of de territory dat is now Maine were Awgonqwian-speaking Wabanaki peopwes, incwuding de Passamaqwoddy, Mawiseet, Penobscot, Androscoggin and Kennebec. During de water King Phiwip's War, many of dese peopwes wouwd merge in one form or anoder to become de Wabanaki Confederacy, aiding de Wampanoag of Massachusetts & de Mahican of New York. Afterwards, many of dese peopwe were driven from deir naturaw territories, but most of de tribes of Maine continued, unchanged, untiw de American Revowution. Before dis point, however, most of dese peopwe were considered separate nations. Many had adapted to wiving in permanent, Iroqwois-inspired settwements, whiwe dose awong de coast tended to be semi-nomadic—travewing from settwement to settwement on a yearwy cycwe. They wouwd usuawwy winter inwand & head to de coasts by summer.[29][30]

After de British defeated de French in Acadia in de 1740s, de territory from de Penobscot River east feww under de nominaw audority of de Province of Nova Scotia, and togeder wif present-day New Brunswick formed de Nova Scotia county of Sunbury, wif its court of generaw sessions at Campobewwo. American and British forces contended for Maine's territory during de American Revowution and de War of 1812, wif de British occupying eastern Maine in bof confwicts.[38] The territory of Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts when de United States was formed fowwowing de Treaty of Paris ending de revowution, awdough de finaw border wif British Norf America was not estabwished untiw de Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

Maine was physicawwy separate from de rest of Massachusetts. Long-standing disagreements over wand specuwation and settwements wed to Maine residents and deir awwies in Massachusetts proper forcing an 1807 vote in de Massachusetts Assembwy on permitting Maine to secede; de vote faiwed. Secessionist sentiment in Maine was stoked during de War of 1812 when Massachusetts pro-British merchants opposed de war and refused to defend Maine from British invaders. In 1819, Massachusetts agreed to permit secession, sanctioned by voters of de rapidwy growing region de fowwowing year. Formaw secession and formation of de state of Maine as de 23rd state occurred on March 15, 1820, as part of de Missouri Compromise, which geographicawwy wimited de spread of swavery and enabwed de admission to statehood of Missouri de fowwowing year, keeping a bawance between swave and free states.[39][40][41]

Maine's originaw state capitaw was Portwand, Maine's wargest city, untiw it was moved to de more centraw Augusta in 1832. The principaw office of de Maine Supreme Judiciaw Court remains in Portwand.

To de souf and east is de Atwantic Ocean and to de norf and nordeast is New Brunswick, a province of Canada. The Canadian province of Quebec is to de nordwest. Maine is bof de nordernmost state in New Engwand and de wargest, accounting for awmost hawf of de region's entire wand area. Maine is de onwy state in de continentaw US to border onwy one oder American state (New Hampshire to de Souf and West).

Maine is de easternmost state in de United States in bof its extreme points and its geographic center. The town of Lubec is de easternmost organized settwement in de United States. Its Quoddy Head Lighdouse is awso de cwosest pwace in de United States to Africa and Europe. Estcourt Station is Maine's nordernmost point, as weww as de nordernmost point in New Engwand. (For more information see extreme points of de United States.)

Maine has awmost 230 miwes (400 km) of coastwine (and 3,500 miwes (5,600 km) of tidaw coastwine).[44][45]West Quoddy Head, in Lubec, Maine, is de easternmost point of wand in de 48 contiguous states. Awong de famous rock-bound coast of Maine are wighdouses, beaches, fishing viwwages, and dousands of offshore iswands, incwuding de Iswes of Shoaws which straddwe de New Hampshire border. There are jagged rocks and cwiffs and many bays and inwets. Inwand are wakes, rivers, forests, and mountains. This visuaw contrast of forested swopes sweeping down to de sea has been summed up by American poet Edna St. Vincent Miwway of Rockwand and Camden, Maine, in "Renascence":

Geowogists describe dis type of wandscape as a "drowned coast", where a rising sea wevew has invaded former wand features, creating bays out of vawweys and iswands out of mountain tops.[46] A rise in de ewevation of de wand due to de mewting of heavy gwacier ice caused a swight rebounding effect of underwying rock; dis wand rise, however, was not enough to ewiminate aww de effect of de rising sea wevew and its invasion of former wand features.

Much of Maine's geomorphowogy was created by extended gwaciaw activity at de end of de wast ice age. Prominent gwaciaw features incwude Somes Sound and Bubbwe Rock, bof part of Acadia Nationaw Park on Mount Desert Iswand. Carved by gwaciers, Somes Sound is considered to be de onwy fjord on de eastern seaboard and reaches depds of 175 feet (50 m). The extreme depf and steep drop-off awwow warge ships to navigate awmost de entire wengf of de sound. These features awso have made it attractive for boat buiwders, such as de prestigious Hinckwey Yachts.

Maine has a humid continentaw cwimate (Köppen cwimate cwassificationDfb), wif warm (awdough generawwy not hot), humid summers. Winters are cowd and very snowy droughout de state, and are especiawwy severe in de Nordern and Western parts of Maine. Coastaw areas are moderated swightwy by de Atwantic Ocean, resuwting in swightwy miwder winters and coower summers in immediate coastaw areas. Daytime highs are generawwy in de 75–80 °F (24–27 °C) range droughout de state in Juwy, wif overnight wows in de high 50s °F (around 15 °C). January temperatures range from highs near 30 °F (−1 °C) on de soudern coast to overnight wows averaging bewow 0 °F (−18 °C) in de far norf.[48]

The state's record high temperature is 105 °F (41 °C), set in Juwy 1911, at Norf Bridgton, uh-hah-hah-hah.[49]
Precipitation in Maine is evenwy distributed year-round, but wif a swight summer maximum in nordern/nordwestern Maine and a swight wate-faww or earwy-winter maximum awong de coast due to "nor'easters" or intense cowd-season rain/snow storms. In coastaw Maine, de wate spring and summer monds are usuawwy driest – a rarity across de Eastern United States. Maine has fewer days of dunderstorms dan any oder state east of de Rockies, wif most of de state averaging wess dan 20 days of dunderstorms a year. Tornadoes are rare in Maine, wif de state averaging fewer dan four per year, awdough dis number is increasing. Most severe dunderstorms and tornadoes occur in de Sebago Lakes & Foodiwws region of de state.[50] Maine onwy occasionawwy sees tropicaw cycwones.

In January 2009, a new record wow temperature for de state was set at Big Bwack River of −50 °F (−46 °C), tying de New Engwand record.[48]

The mean popuwation center of Maine is wocated in Kennebec County, just east of Augusta.[55] The Greater Portwand metropowitan area is de most densewy popuwated wif nearwy 40% of Maine's popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[56] Portwand's estimated popuwation in 2016 was 66,937.[57] As expwained in detaiw under "Geography", dere are warge tracts of uninhabited wand in some remote parts of de interior.

Maine has experienced a very swow rate of popuwation growf since de 1990 census; its rate of growf (0.57%) since de 2010 census ranks 45f of de 50 states.[58] The modest popuwation growf in de state has been concentrated in de soudern coastaw counties; wif more diverse popuwations swowwy moving into dese areas of de state. However, de nordern, more ruraw areas of de state have experienced a swight decwine in popuwation in recent years.[59]

According to de 2010 Census, Maine has de highest percentage of non-Hispanic whites of any state, at 94.4% of de totaw popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 2011, 89.0% of aww birds in de state were to non-Hispanic white parents.[60]

The tabwe bewow shows de raciaw composition of Maine's popuwation as of 2016.

Peopwe citing dat dey are American are of overwhewmingwy Engwish descent, but have ancestry dat has been in de region for so wong (often since de 1600s) dat dey choose to identify simpwy as Americans.[63][64][65][66][67][68][69]

Maine does not have an officiaw wanguage,[2] but de most widewy spoken wanguage in de state is Engwish. The 2000 Census reported 92.25% of Maine residents aged five and owder spoke onwy Engwish at home. French-speakers are de state's chief winguistic minority; census figures show dat Maine has de highest percentage of peopwe speaking French at home of any state: 5.28% of Maine househowds are French-speaking, compared wif 4.68% in Louisiana, which is de second highest state.[74] Awdough rarewy spoken, Spanish is de dird-most-common wanguage in Maine, after Engwish and French.[75]

Brunswick Landing, formerwy Navaw Air Station Brunswick, is awso in Maine. Formerwy a warge support base for de U.S. Navy, de BRAC campaign initiated de Navaw Air Station's cwosing, despite a government-funded effort to upgrade its faciwities. The former base has since been changed into a civiwian business park, as weww as a new satewwite campus for Soudern Maine Community Cowwege.[81]

Maine is de number one US producer of wow-bush bwueberries (Vaccinium angustifowium). Prewiminary data from de USDA for 2012 awso indicate Maine was de wargest bwueberry producer of de major bwueberry producing states in de US, wif 91,100,000 wbs.[82] This data incwudes bof wow (wiwd), and high-bush (cuwtivated) bwueberries: Vaccinium corymbosum. The wargest toodpick manufacturing pwant in de United States used to be wocated in Strong, Maine. The Strong Wood Products pwant produced 20 miwwion toodpicks a day. It cwosed in May 2003.

Tourism and outdoor recreation pway a major and increasingwy important rowe in Maine's economy. The state is a popuwar destination for sport hunting (particuwarwy deer, moose and bear), sport fishing, snowmobiwing, skiing, boating, camping and hiking, among oder activities.

Historicawwy, Maine ports pwayed a key rowe in nationaw transportation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Beginning around 1880, Portwand's raiw wink and ice-free port made it Canada's principaw winter port, untiw de aggressive devewopment of Hawifax, Nova Scotia, in de mid-1900s. In 2013, 12,039,600 short tons passed into and out of Portwand by sea,[83] which pwaces it 45f of US water ports.[84] Portwand Maine's Portwand Internationaw Jetport was recentwy expanded, providing de state wif increased air traffic from carriers such as JetBwue and Soudwest Airwines.

Maine has an income tax structure containing two brackets, 6.5 and 7.95 percent of personaw income.[85] Before Juwy 2013 Maine had four brackets: 2, 4.5, 7, and 8.5 percent.[86] Maine's generaw sawes tax rate is 5.5 percent. The state awso wevies charges of 9 percent on wodging and prepared food and 10 percent on short-term auto rentaws.[87] Commerciaw sewwers of bwueberries, a Maine stapwe, must keep records of deir transactions and pay de state 1.5 cents per pound ($1.50 per 100 pounds) of de fruit sowd each season, uh-hah-hah-hah. Aww reaw and tangibwe personaw property wocated in de state of Maine is taxabwe unwess specificawwy exempted by statute. The administration of property taxes is handwed by de wocaw assessor in incorporated cities and towns, whiwe property taxes in de unorganized territories are handwed by de State Tax Assessor.

Maine has a wong-standing tradition of being home to many shipbuiwding companies. In de 18f and 19f centuries, Maine was home to many shipyards dat produced wooden saiwing ships. The main function of dese ships was to transport eider cargos or passengers overseas. One of dese yards was wocated in Pennewwviwwe Historic District in what is now Brunswick, Maine. This yard, owned by de Penneww famiwy, was typicaw of de many famiwy-owned shipbuiwding companies of de time period. Oder such exampwes of shipbuiwding famiwies were de Skowfiewds and de Morses. During de 18f and 19f centuries, wooden shipbuiwding of dis sort made up a sizabwe portion of de economy.

The Maine Constitution structures Maine's state government, composed of dree co-eqwaw branches—de executive, wegiswative, and judiciaw branches. The state of Maine awso has dree Constitutionaw Officers (de Secretary of State, de State Treasurer, and de State Attorney Generaw) and one Statutory Officer (de State Auditor).

The executive branch is responsibwe for de execution of de waws created by de Legiswature and is headed by de Governor of Maine (currentwy Janet Miwws). The Governor is ewected every four years; no individuaw may serve more dan two consecutive terms in dis office. The current attorney generaw of Maine is Aaron Frey. As wif oder state wegiswatures, de Maine Legiswature can by a two-dirds majority vote from bof de House and Senate override a gubernatoriaw veto. Maine is one of seven states dat do not have a wieutenant governor.

The judiciaw branch is responsibwe for interpreting state waws. The highest court of de state is de Maine Supreme Judiciaw Court. The wower courts are de District Court, Superior Court and Probate Court. Aww judges except for probate judges serve fuww-time, are nominated by de Governor and confirmed by de Legiswature for terms of seven years. Probate judges serve part-time and are ewected by de voters of each county for four-year terms.

In state generaw ewections, Maine voters tend to accept independent and dird-party candidates more freqwentwy dan most states. Maine has had two independent governors recentwy (James B. Longwey, 1975–1979 and current U.S. Senator Angus King, 1995–2003). Maine state powiticians, Democrats and Repubwicans awike, are noted for having more moderate views dan many in de nationaw wings of deir respective parties.

On May 6, 2009, Maine became de fiff state to wegawize same-sex marriage; however, de waw was repeawed by voters on November 3, 2009. On November 6, 2012, Maine, awong wif Marywand and Washington, became de first state to wegawize same-sex marriage at de bawwot box.[92]

In de 1930s, Maine was one of very few states which retained Repubwican sentiments. In de 1936 presidentiaw ewection, Frankwin D. Roosevewt received de ewectoraw votes of every state oder dan Maine and Vermont; dese were de onwy two states in de nation dat never voted for Roosevewt in any of his presidentiaw campaigns, dough Maine was cwosewy fought in 1940 and 1944. In de 1960s, Maine began to wean toward de Democrats, especiawwy in presidentiaw ewections. In 1968, Hubert Humphrey became just de second Democrat in hawf a century to carry Maine, perhaps because of de presence of his running mate, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, awdough de state voted Repubwican in every presidentiaw ewection in de 1970s and 1980s.

Since 1969, two of Maine's four ewectoraw votes have been awarded based on de winner of de statewide ewection; de oder two go to de highest vote-getter in each of de state's two congressionaw districts. Every oder state except Nebraska gives aww its ewectoraw votes to de candidate who wins de popuwar vote in de state at warge, widout regard to performance widin districts. Maine spwit its ewectoraw vote for de first time in 2016, wif Donawd Trump's strong showing in de more ruraw centraw and nordern Maine awwowing him to capture one of de state's four votes in de Ewectoraw Cowwege.[93]

In de 2010 midterm ewections, Repubwicans made major gains in Maine. They captured de governor's office as weww as majorities in bof chambers of de state wegiswature for de first time since de earwy 1970s. However, in de 2012 ewections Democrats managed to recapture bof houses of Maine Legiswature.

An organized municipawity has a form of ewected wocaw government which administers and provides wocaw services, keeps records, cowwects wicensing fees, and can pass wocawwy binding ordinances, among oder responsibiwities of sewf-government. The governmentaw format of most organized towns and pwantations is de town meeting, whiwe de format of most cities is de counciw-manager form. As of 2013[update] de organized municipawities of Maine consist of 23 cities, 431 towns, and 34 pwantations. Cowwectivewy dese 488 organized municipawities cover wess dan hawf of de state's territory. Maine awso has 3 Reservations: Indian Iswand, Indian Township Reservation, and Pweasant Point Indian Reservation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[94]

The wargest municipawity in Maine, by popuwation, is de city of Portwand (pop. 66,318).

The smawwest city by popuwation is Eastport (pop. 1,331).

The wargest town by popuwation is Brunswick (pop. 20,278).

The smawwest town by popuwation is Frye Iswand, a resort town which reported zero year-round popuwation in de 2000 Census; one pwantation, Gwenwood Pwantation, Maine, awso reported a permanent popuwation of zero.

In de 2000 census, de smawwest town aside from Frye Iswand was Centerviwwe wif a popuwation of 26, but since dat census, Centerviwwe voted to disincorporate and derefore is no wonger a town, uh-hah-hah-hah. The next smawwest town wif a popuwation wisted in dat census is Beddington (pop. 50 at de 2010 census).

The wargest municipawity by wand area is de town of Awwagash, at 128 sqware miwes (332 km2).

The smawwest municipawity by wand area is de pwantation of Monhegan Iswand, at 0.86 sqware miwes (2.2 km2). The smawwest municipawity by area dat is not an iswand is Randowph, at 2.23 sqware miwes (6 km2).

Unorganized territory has no wocaw government. Administration, services, wicensing, and ordinances are handwed by de state government as weww as by respective county governments who have townships widin each county’s bounds. The unorganized territory of Maine consists of over 400 townships (towns are incorporated, townships are unincorporated), pwus many coastaw iswands dat do not wie widin any municipaw bounds. The UT wand area is swightwy over one hawf de entire area of de State of Maine. Year-round residents in de UT number approximatewy 9,000, about 1.3% of de state's totaw popuwation, wif many more peopwe residing onwy seasonawwy widin de UT. Onwy four of Maine's sixteen counties (Androscoggin, Cumberwand, Wawdo and York) are entirewy incorporated, awdough a few oders are nearwy so, and most of de unincorporated area is in de vast and sparsewy popuwated Great Norf Woods of Maine.[95]

Throughout Maine, many municipawities, awdough each separate governmentaw entities, neverdewess form portions of a much warger popuwation base. There are many such popuwation cwusters droughout Maine, but some exampwes from de municipawities appearing in de above wisting are:

Bowdoin Cowwege is a wiberaw arts cowwege founded in 1794 in Brunswick, making it de owdest institution of higher wearning in de state. Cowby Cowwege in Waterviwwe was founded in 1813 making it de second owdest cowwege in Maine.[99]Bates Cowwege in Lewiston was founded in 1855 making it de dird owdest institution in de state and de owdest coeducationaw cowwege in New Engwand.[100] The dree cowweges cowwectivewy form de Cowby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium and are ranked among de best cowweges in de United States; often pwacing in de top 10% of aww wiberaw arts cowweges.[101][102][103]

Private schoows in Maine are funded independentwy of de state and its furdered domains. Private schoows are wess common dan pubwic schoows. A warge number of private ewementary schoows wif under 20 students exist, but most private high schoows in Maine can be described as "semi-private".

A citizen of Maine is known as a "Mainer",[109] dough de term is often reserved for dose whose roots in Maine go back at weast dree generations.[110] The term "Downeaster" may be appwied to residents of de nordeast coast of de state. The term "Mainiac" is considered by some to be derogatory, but embraced wif pride by oders,[111] and is used for a variety of organizations and for events such as de YMCA Mainiac Sprint Triadwon & Duadwon, uh-hah-hah-hah.[112]

^"Journaw of de Senate"(doc). State of Maine, HP1629, item 1, 123rd Maine State Legiswature. March 6, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2007. WHEREAS, de State of Maine is named after de Province of Maine in France...